Wellness Fairs

A Wellness Fair is a school or community sponsored event that informs people about and engages them in health and wellness issues. These fairs typically offer kid friendly ways to live healthier lifestyles. The goal of a Wellness Fair is to inform; the best way to do this is to have fun and to get kids involved.

Wellness Fairs can last a few hours or a few days, but to really have a lasting impact, kids need to be part of the process. The event needs contests that pique kids' interest, exhibits prepared by kids, kids behind booths sharing information and literature, kids acting in skits, kids behind cameras. Here are some broad topics that may be of interest for your Wellness Fair.

  • Exercise and Nutrition
  • Strategies for Healthy Living
  • How to Relieve Stress
  • Student Research and Health Exhibitions

For more information and ideas about hosting a Wellness Fair, click on the web sections below.
For a template of an exhibit fair, click here.

  • Ideas for Hosting a Wellness Fair:
    There is no shortage of interesting topics and fun themes to grab the attention of adults and kids alike. In fact, when planning your fair, we suggest that you engage some kids in the planning process, have them help select at least some of the themes and topics to pursue, and get them involved in every phase of the event. There are, of course, many state and local agencies that can help with ideas and information on such topics as:
    • Nutrition and exercise
    • Smoking prevention
    • Alcohol prevention
    • CPR and first aid
    • Blood donation drives
    • Free clinics in the area
    • Alternative healthcare opportunities
    • Self healthcare seminars and workshops
  • Steps for Planning a Wellness Fair:
    So...you want to host a Wellness Fair. Well done. We salute you, but where do you start? Here's an outline showing some key steps you will need to follow. At a minimum, it's a starting point, and you can then fill in the details as they pertain to your event.
    1. Decide on your target audience. Will it be pre-schoolers and parents of pre-schoolers? Middle schoolers, educators, and parents? Workshops for educators and professionals? The audience will determine the scope and nature of the event.
    2. Set your goals. What will be the theme of the fair? Will you have speakers? Panels? Interactive events for kids to participate in? What topics will you cover? The point is to fill out as much of a program as possible so you know how you want this to be organized.
    3. Decide on a location and date for the event.
    4. Recruit a Volunteer Planning Group to handle publicity, logistics. and coordination with other participating organizations.
    5. Find volunteers to assist with tasks set by your Planning Group. Include kids.
    6. Select and contact organizations in your community to partner with. Consider how they fit with the theme and topics you want to present at the fair. Will your partners provide speakers or members for panel discussions? Will they have a special presentation, an exhibition booth, hand out literature, or serve some other function? To the extent possible, lay out all the tasks and identify who will be responsible for what. The fewer surprises, the better.
    7. Make a checklist of questions to ask the people who will be providing information or services at your fair. For example, will they be passing out materials, providing health screenings, or perhaps sponsoring exhibit booths prepared by kids? Find out what services they offer so that you can highlight these in your publicity materials.
    8. Publicize the event within your school and community, and be as creative as possible. Remember to ask your partner organizations to publicize the Wellness Fair to their clients; distribute flyers and announcements; perhaps contact your local radio station and ask them to make a public service announcements; and make sure you reach out to the print media as well. Ask them to publish an article (perhaps you should give them a press release) before the event and invite them to cover the fair and write a post-event article. Perhaps you can get them to conduct and then publish a ñdesk-side interviewî with the lead organizer before the event.
    9. Contact presenters and organizations attending a week before to make sure they have directions, know the floor plan for exhibiting or presenting, and have their questions answered before the big day.
    10. Finally, make sure you keep a record of everyone who participated. They all deserve a well earned 'thank-you'. They may want to continue their association and participate in future events.

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School Grants

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School Outreach

Cabot Creamery is a cooperative, which in our case means that dairy farmers throughout Vermont and New England own our company. As a cooperative, we follow a business model based on close involvement with and outreach programs to the community. We know that as the community thrives, so will our business. And we also know that engaging communities and wellness programs benefits everybody. One of the ways that Cabot does this is through "Healthy Living School Grants."

At Cabot, we put our money where our heart is. We try awfully hard to support School Grants, and we invite you and your school to participate. But we like to see matching funds or inkind contributions from another sponsor (such as parent groups or a community organization or cooperative) and to get a feel for what your program is all about before sending the check. If approved, the funds can be used for almost anything associated with your program including: supplies for exhibits, healthy snacks, printed materials, or whatever your project needs.

So, what kinds of programs would be eligible for these grants? Here are some examples.

  • Wellness Fairs:
    Organize a wellness fair for your school or community. Set up displays, invite guest speakers, have kids prepare literature. To view information offering more ideas on topics for a wellness fair and how to set one up once you've made the decision to go forward, click here.
  • Nutrition Workshops for Coaches/Students/Parents:
    Invite a professional to hold a workshop at your school. This could be a nutritionist, a registered dietician, a Dairy Council Representative, or a health counselor to conduct a workshop about healthy eating, healthy recipes for the family, and good food choices.
  • Promoting Healthy Food Choices in Schools:
    Students, Parents & Groups, or school community partnerships can promote healthy eating in your school. You might invite a local chef to do a demo, the cafeteria to promote taste tests for selected classrooms, host meetings about nutrition and provide tasty (but most importantly, healthy) snacks, or develop and install cool pictures and posters for your cafeteria. Click here for a great activity.

    Fuel Up to Play 60 is a new, innovative program from National Dairy Council® and the National Football League designed to help schools meet wellness goals and help youth develop life-long healthy eating and daily physical activity habits. Fuel Up to Play 60 is a student-led program that engages and empowers youth to get 60 minutes of physical activity each day and to choose nutrient-rich foods including low-fat and fat-free dairy, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables as recommended by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines. This program is a perfect compliment to other school wellness initiatives already in action! Visit http://www.FuelUptoPlay60.com to sign up!
  • Other Thoughts / Resources:
    There is no end to the programs you can develop. Perhaps consider organizing a cooking club, develop garden projects, or implement an exercise program with a healthy eating component. Click here for a list of excellent examples.

Alright already. So how do we get matching funds?

As we said above, Cabot will provide matching funds of up to $200 for any qualifying program. (And we aim to be liberal in qualifying programs.) To apply for these funds online, click here. If you are looking only for a product donation, please go to our Donation Request Form.

This is a rolling grant application. Cabot accepts grant requests at any time and will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You will receive a response regarding our decision anywhere from 6-8 weeks after your application has been submitted.

If you would like to print and send/fax the form, you can click here to download the form.

Send/Fax application to:
Attn: Health & Education Team
Fax:802-371-1200

Mailing: Cabot Creamery Cooperative
1 Home Farm Way
Montpelier, VT 05602

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